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Moving toward regenerative agriculture, a discussion

Brands and innovators from all natural products industry sectors gather to raise what they believe are the biggest questions facing anyone working toward regenerative agriculture, and then talk in small groups about how to address them.

"We could actually be teaching the next generation about what to expect from farms and from their food so that as they grow up, it becomes something that they expect as the new normal."

—Tina Owens, Kashi Company

Part 1: Introduction to the workshop and the leaders

Highlights:

How do we ensure that the costs involved in change are not absorbed by farmers who can least afford it? Is there a role for creating impact procurement agreements with the cooperatives of local and regional farmers?

How do we scale regenerative agriculture from the farm, and how do we connect markets to that?

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Part 2: The key questions

Highlights:

How can brands support farmers transitioning to regenerative agriculture practices, and how does the regenerative agriculture standard reward farmers?

How do we connect source to story and activate consumers around regenerative agriculture?

How do we address citizen confusion, accessibility and affordability, and what role can retailers play in building demand for soil health?

How do brands build relationships with consumers to grow the regenerative food movement?

What are the economics and viability for farmers, and affordability for consumers, from a brand perspective?

What stories for regenerative food and agriculture can inspire behavioral change?

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Part 3: Key takeaways and actionable messages

Highlights:

Infrastructure, and cooperating around building infrastructure that enables this shift, is important for both the business side and the agriculture side.

There should be an opportunity to build regenerative agriculture through the right-to-know movement—allowing consumers to demand to know whether their products are helping to address climate change.

We could be teaching the next generation about what to expect from farms and their food so that as they grow up, they expect it as the new normal.

We need different models for training farmers in these practices, which are really knowledge-based—and farmers need to be able to share in that knowledge.

What crops are available that are not being utilized? Let's look at using those to diversify agriculture and speed up the process of land regeneration.

This session—Regenerative Earth Interactive Workshop—was recorded at Natural Products Expo West 2018.